Cabinet.



Patented Mar. 6, |900. P. H. YAWMAN.

No. 644,75I.

CA BIN ET.

(Application led Dec. 7, 1897.)

(No Model.)

r. Flr (rari/lll, 4 A

\/Vi Lnesses.'

Nimah TA ns PHILIP H. YAWMAN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE YAWMAN d: ERBE MANUFACTURING COM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 644,7' 51 dated March 6, 1900.

Application filed December?, 1897. Serial No. 661,083, (No model.)

T0 all whom 7175 may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILP II. YAWMAN, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cabinets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of. this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention has for its object to provide an improved cabinet particularly adapted for containing books and a curtain or covering therefor; and to these ends it con# sists in certain improvements in construction hereinafter fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a bookcase or cabinet constructed in accordance with my invention, a portion of the interior of the casing being broken away to show the operating parts for thedcors or covering-curtains; Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional View on the line x 0c of Fig. 1; Fig.r3, a horizontal sectional view on the line y y of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a vertical sectional view on the line ze' of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the particular construction of the shutter or curtain.

Similar reference-numerals indicate similar parts.

The cabinet or casin g embodies the side plates or portions 1, connected at the top, bottom, and also at the rear, if desired, and secured to said side plates are ways formed, preferably, of channel-irons 2, extending along the sides of the front opening of the casing, over the top and bottom thereof and part way up the rear side, as shown particularly in Fig. 1. Within these ways are arranged to travel ilexible curtains 3 4, the upper curtain 3 having at its lower forward portion a cross-bar 5, provided with an operating-handle 6, and the lower curtain 4. having at its upper forward end a cross-bar 7, having an operating-handle S, and both curtains are preferably provided with ribs or projections on their rear faces adapted to cooperate with suitable toothed wheels 9, mounted upon shafts 10, arranged at the top andl bottom of the casing, respectively. The wheels 9 are adjustably secured near the ends of the shafts, which latter are arranged in suitable bearings in the side frames, this arrangement causing both sides of the curtains to be accurately guided in the ways or guides 2 and causing both sides of the curtains to travel at the same speed.

Secured to the ends of the rear side of the front bar 5 of the upper curtain are arms 11, connected to rack-bars 12, vertically movable in suitable guides 13, securedv to the sides of the casing, and the bar 7 of the lower curtain is also provided with rearwardly-extending arms 14, connected to rack-bars 15, operating in suitable guides 16, also on the casing, and the adjacent bars 12 and 15 on each side mesh with pinions 17, arranged between them so as to cause their simultaneous operation in opposite directions and by the manipulation of either of the curtains-that is to say, if the upper curtain 3 is raised it will pass around in the channel or guide 2 at the top, and at the same time, through the pinions and rackbars, the lower curtain will be caused to move downward and around to the rear in its guides. From this construction it will be seen that the curtains balance each other and may be moved to open or close the front of the casing with very slight exertion.

The curtains employed may be of any suitable construction provided they are flexible, and it is eminently desirable that they have projections or recesses that will engage with the gear-.wheels 9 to cause them to run evenly; but I prefer to form them of separate sections 20, of sheet metal, extending the full width of the open front of the casing and having one edge bent at approximately a right angle to the body and then curledvover to form a bead 21, while the other edge is bent over, as shown at 22, forming a roll adapted to receive the bead 21 at the edge of the next adjacent section, thereby enabling the sections to be connected into a curtain of indefinite length by sliding them relatively longitudi-V nally, at the same time providing a pivotal connection between them which permits them to follow readily the curved ways at the ends IOO of the casing. It is preferable that the sections be provided with a longitudinal corrugation 23, serving to stiften them somewhat. The ribs or rolls 22 constitute the projections at the rear of the curtains, which engage with the teeth of the gears 9.

When the cabinet is to be used as a bookcase, I provide an interior casing 25, in which are arranged shelves 26, shown as consisting of rollers 27 in suitable frames 28; butit will be understood that the interior casing could be dispensed with and different forms of shelves employed, if desired.

The parts constructed as shown are very simple, cheap, easily constructed, and when of metal, as contemplated, reproot'.

I claim as my inventionl. In a cabinet, the combination with the casing open at the front, the ways at the sides thereof extending around the top and bottom and at the rear, and the two flexible curtains sliding in the ways and serving to counterbalance each other at all points, of the rackbars sliding in guides upon the sides of the casing connected to the forward proximate ends of the curtains, and the pinions meshing with said rack-bars for causing the simultaneous operation of the curtain in opposite directions,said curtains being unconnected attheir rear ends.

2. In a cabinet, the combination with the casing open at the front, and having the ways at the sides extending around the top and bottom, of the two exible curtains sliding in the ways, each provided with the bars at their proximate ends,the rack-bars sliding in guides on the sides of the casing near the front thereof, the rearwardly extending arms on the proximate ends of the curtains connecting them with the rack-bars, and the pinions between the bars.

3. In a cabinet, the combination with the casing open at the front, and having the ways at the sides extending around the top and bottom, of the two flexible curtains, each having the projections on the rear sides, the connected gears, one pair for each curtain, arranged at the upper and lower ends of the casing engaging the curtains near their edges, and connections between the proximate edges of the curtains for causing their simultaneous operation in opposite directions.

4. In a cabinet, the combination with the casing and ways thereon, of a flexible curtain traveling on the ways, and composed of a plurality of sections, each section having on one face and at one edge a bead extending over the said face, and at the other edge and on the same face a roll extending away from the face and adapted to embrace the bead on an adjacent section, and toothed wheels connected for simultaneous operation and engaging with the rolls on the curtain-sections.

5. In a cabinet, the combination with the casing open at the front having the ways at the sides extending around the top and bottom, the two Ilexible curtains sliding in the ways, said curtains being composed of a plurality of sections, each section having a bead at one edge extending over one face and at the other edge a roll extending in the same direction as the said bead and adapted to embrace the bead on an adjacent section, of the connected gears, one pair for each curtain, and connections between the proximate edges of the curtains to cause the simultaneous operation of the latter in opposite directions.

PHILIP II. YJUVMAN.

Witnesses:

F. F. CHURCH, G. A. RODA. 

